Jho Low’s Yacht Goes on Sale Following Auction Flop

Jho Low’s Yacht Goes on Sale Following Auction Flop

The luxury yacht that was once owned by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho is being put on sale for just $130 million, which is a major discount to the $250 million that he allegedly paid for it in 2014. Jho Low is wanted in connection with a multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund IMBD, according to a government lawyer.

The yacht, named Equanimity, is part of a $1.7 billion collection of assets, which the U.S. sought to seize. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that they were purchased with money embezzled from Malaysian state fund 1MDB, which lies at the center of a globe-spanning scandal that ensnared Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and former Prime Minister Najib Razak, as Bloomberg reports.

The purported $250 million yacht features marble and gold leaf interior, a spa, sauna, 20-metre swimming pool, movie theater and helipad. Malaysia set the floor price of $130 million for the 300-ft (91-m) yacht as a guide for would-be buyers, after no “acceptable” bids were received at an earlier auction that closed on Nov. 28. The government will consider bids around that price, government lawyer Jeremy Joseph said.

Malaysia and the U.S. are investigating in regard to billions of dollars that went missing from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), though some of that money was used to purchase the yacht, in addition to a private jet, Picasso paintings, jewelry and real estate.

Lawsuits identified Low as a central figure in the 1MDB scandal, Reuters reports, though his whereabouts remain unknown. He said the seizure and sale of the yacht was “illegal and costly.”

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